Automatic background subtraction in gas electron diffraction: The covariance matrix in least-squares structure-parameter analysis

The present study is part of a large program being conducted at the All-Union Scientific-Research Center for Properties of Surfaces and Vacuum involving electron-diffraction studies on polyatomic inorganic molecules. The unique data on the structures of oxygen-acid salts and complex halides have been included in reference tables [9] and used in calculating thermodynamic functions [10]. The difficulties in obtaining electron-diffraction patterns for these compounds do not allow one to perform a complete statistical analysis in each case, so the results here are of interest not only in themselves but also as regards interpreting molecular constants previously measured.